Me and My Shadow

1990-91 Seventh Inning Sketch QMJHL card #46 – Martin Chaput

Canadian-based card manufacturer Seventh Inning Sketch is best known for their trading card sets featuring major junior hockey players from the early 1990s. Whereas “police sets” from that era relied on posed portrait shots, Seventh Inning Sketch instead utilized action photography on the majority of the cards. This made for a more exciting set of cards, although a stinker did slip through the cracks every now and then. This is one such card.

I’m not sure who exactly is being portrayed on this card – is it Laval Titans player Martin Chaput…or is it his shadow? We don’t get a good look at the young defenseman, as his back is toward us while he winds up for a slap shot. We do, however, get quite an eyeful of his long, looming shadow.

While cropping the photo in a way so as to include the shadow is more interesting than just showing us his back, it is too bad that Chaput’s stick and skates could not be seen. Likewise, the puck should be more integral; instead, it is barely in the photo, part of it just peeking up from the bottom border. It must have been amateur photographer night at the game this shot was taken.

Cards by Seventh Inning Sketch normally featured photos on the front and back of each card. No such luck here for Chaput, as the card is blank on the back where his second photo should be. This wasn’t the best photo of Chaput the company could get – this was the only photo.